Unless you sleep 15 hours straight, there is no reason you can’t. “It is totally safe to leave a tampon in overnight,” says New York gynecologist Dr. Elizabeth Eden. She suggests changing the tampon just before bed and right after waking up.

The fear surrounding tampons has to do with Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS), a potentially fatal disease in which the tampon traps bacteria and releases poisonous toxins into the bloodstream. “TSS is really rare and is associated with very super absorbent tampons, which have been taken off the market, or wearing tampons longer than overnight,” notes Dr. Eden. Sweet dreams!